How many cups of coffee did you drink this morning? Let's be honest, here. I actually managed to get by on only one (with a Diet Coke chaser), but I won't spend a second pretending that's my daily average. Right now it's holiday break for me, so I don't even have a real incentive to down any beige paint before getting on with a full day browsing Netflix with my double chin glistening in the soft blue light.
The semester is a different story. Responsibilities. I'm a senior at the University of Missouri, and I'm fully aware that anyone outside of the Midwest familiar with Mizzou probably either knows our school because of its sports or because of its journalism program. The Midwest has a pretty Type B reputation, which I adore and embrace and exhibit, but within the journalism school to which I belong that's not necessarily the case. Everything here is GO GO GO all the time. Constant work and stress are accepted as a given. Sleep deprivation, coffee and even "mental breakdowns" are some of the most common topics of discourse campus-wide. In fear of being too Serious Sally, I understand that most of this comes from a good-natured desire to relate. Still, I'm not a fan.
The aforementioned GO GO GO-ness can be super fun, really. My generally brisk gait and RBF, which I'll call Resting Brat Face so as to not be Stone Age sexist, are convincing accessories for a self-important college student. And this look's centerpiece, of course, is a large cup of joe. I love coffee - the taste, the caffeine, the...caffeine - but to call it anything other than an accessory would be wrong. When you cross paths with your friend, the coffee says more than your mouth ever could.
"Hey Kevin! You have three tests today? Got two hours of sleep last night? Cried earlier? That's really interesting, but as you can see from my Starbucks cup I've got things to do and places to be. Bye!"
It can be fun to play the part of a metropolitan business executive at the age of 21. In a sense, college is just one long rehearsal for being an adult. But there are aspects of busy grown-up life that we can do without, and it all starts with common discourse around sleep. I strongly think that we need to re-prioritize sleep as a country. The "city that never sleeps" should refer to the city, not the people in it! And even here, in the humble abode of Columbia, Mo., desperate attempts to cram for important tests nearly always prevail over getting a solid nine hours. Within the competitive confines of a college campus, getting things done is a hot commodity. It's all about grades, internships, extracurriculars and who can pile the most tasks on top of each other without going insane.
But listen: If you don't get enough sleep, and especially if you're not getting hardly any sleep, you will go insane! It's a certainty. Other than shameless public naps, I'm not aware of anything going on around my campus related to talking about the importance of sleep. It's a little disheartening, but in a positive way, it makes me all the more excited to get it started. I've got a call to action for all of you. Tonight, try to get an extra hour of sleep. If you're on a long break like me, your circadian rhythm will thank you. If you've got some busy days ahead of you, so will your sanity and general well being. Let's go out there and get those zzz's!